gilded cage

Cultural  

1. To be like “a bird in a gilded cage” is to live in luxury but without freedom: “Because the movie star could not go out without being recognized and pursued, she stayed in her penthouse, living like a bird in a gilded cage.”

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gilded cage Idioms  

1. The encumbrances or limitations that often accompany material wealth, as in She had furs, jewelry, whatever money could buy, but was trapped in a gilded cage. This metaphoric expression indicating that riches cannot buy happiness was popularized (and possibly coined) in a song, “A Bird in a Gilded Cage” (1990; lyrics by Arthur J. Lamb, music by Harry von Tilzer), about a young girl marrying for wealth instead of love and paying for luxury with a life of regret.

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Example Sentences

Fabio Capello lead a campaign that mirrored his countenance - grim, austere and discontented, the Italian choosing to base England in a gilded cage at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace outside Rustenburg.

From BBC • Jul. 13, 2024

It shows Taylor and Burton essentially confined to the gilded cage of their New York hotel suite.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 2024

It’s a luxurious prison, a gilded cage filled with priceless works of art whose value becomes null in this harrowing survivalist situation — after all, you can’t eat art.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2023

“What is evident is that ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ ended up being a gilded cage for its director.

From New York Times • Jan. 9, 2023

It was altogether pleasant, but I never forgot that it was a gilded cage.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela